Member Avatar for Jonnylavery

Hey all, newbie here, have a question for ya.
Machine: HP PAvillion 5218nr (2006)
80Gb HD
200Meg Ram (UG)
And the ever lovely Celeron M

I've read similar posts on the topic already but wonder whether there's a genuine problem uninstalling/deleting the HP system recovery partition if i have the original Rescue DVD's. I haven't copied the thread from before, but no doubt someone will remember it was about the size of the recovery partition. Mine is 9Gb. I dont need the space, but SMART threw me a warning this morning for an iminent failure.

I know that SMARt can flag an overheated drive too, or rather that overheating can cause the problems, but i knew that a defrag and back up was essential, so i've done that.
It was after that when i decided to check the status of the partition too, which, it transpires, is 90% fragged, and only 12% free. The big problem with that is i cant defrag it properly.

So, to the questions:
Does anyone think that the partition itself could've caused the SMART flag? There's only one HD but the error reads "SMART Failure: Failure iminent on HD2 ST98823AS-(S1). Back up files and buy a new hard drive immediately." (more or less)
If it could have, i'd like it defragged and off my system as i dont see the need.

If so, how can i access the partition (as HP have it locked tight) and sort it out? I imagine i'll need partitionmagic or something to even get a look at it- but will that work?

Im broke at the mo and cant afford a new HD, even at the good prices. The standard warranty is 1yr, buthave i any legs to stand on for a replacement- i.e. is it a hardware fault?

Theres probably more questions but we'll start with that. sorry for the tedously long post, and thank you for your time in reading.
J

Edit:
To compound my misery, i cannot access the bios as the supervisor password locks out the bios access button- maybe im using the wrong button- it is F10, isn't it? HP Support says it is, but then, they could be wrong....
I had wanted to check the HD using the Checking facility in the bios. But cant. Ho Hum

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by mechbas

Dani AI

Generated

: SMART warnings are almost always a symptom of the drive hardware starting to fail, not the recovery partition itself. As suggested, treat the SMART message as authoritative and proceed assuming the disk is unreliable. That lets you prioritize actions that actually save data and make recovery possible.

Practical next steps (in order): verify the warning with a full vendor diagnostic, then image/clone the drive before doing anything destructive. Useful, free tools: the HDD maker's bootable tester (Seagate/WD/Hitachi), a Linux live USB with smartmontools, and Clonezilla or ddrescue for imaging. A quick smart check from a Linux live session looks like:

smartctl -a /dev/sda
smartctl -t long /dev/sda

If the long test reports failures or SMART attributes like Reallocated_Sector_Ct or Current_Pending_Sector are nonzero and rising, the drive is failing.

If imaging succeeds, restore the image to a replacement drive (even a cheap used 2.5" laptop drive will get the system bootable). If you must preserve the OEM recovery partition, image that partition separately before deleting it. To view or remove a hidden OEM partition use a partitioning tool (GParted Live, MiniTool/EaseUS boot media). Delete only after you have a verified image or recovery media; once removed you lose the factory restore image.

About the BIOS supervisor lock: some HP laptops can be reset by clearing CMOS or moving a jumper, but many newer models store passwords in nonvolatile memory and require HP service. Try documented keys (F10/F2/F11 vary), but do not attempt invasive board work if the unit is under warranty—contact HP first.

Summary: verify with a full test, image now, replace the drive if tests fail, then restore from your recovery discs or the image. Delay increases risk of total data loss.

Member Avatar for mechbas

>>>Back up files and buy a new hard drive immediately
That is VERY good advice and IS a sign of a failing drive, and, yes, SMART failure IS a warranty issue if yours is still in effect.
The BIOS issue can be eliminated if you follow the BIOS reset (to default) in your manual. Simply a matter of powering down and temporarily moving a jumper to it's alternate pin setting.

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